Psychophysical motivational effects of music on competitive swimming

Background: The aim of the study was to assess changes in motivation levels in the subjects who were provided with motivational music (independent variable). The additional aim was to establish differences between two study groups in terms of swimming effectiveness.Material/Methods: The employed research method relied on a laboratory experiment. The study included 8 subjects involved in swimming training. They were divided into two groups - control (C) and experimental (E) ones. The study consisted of three trials during which the subjects swam a distance of 50m front crawl with maximum velocity. In the first trial neither of the groups had an independent variable. In trials two and three group C swam the distance listening to white noise. Group E received motivational music of choice (independent variable). Before and after the trials the subjects’ motivation was assessed by means of the MOTO scale.Results: The motivation level assessed by means of the MOTO scale revealed no statistically significant differences in the groups. The Mann-Whitney U Test showed no statistically significant differences between the study groups in terms of their times over 50 m.Conclusions: Motivational music which the swimmers received when swimming had no impact on an increased level of the swimmers’ motivation and swimming effectiveness.

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